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Monday, July 23, 2007

Get Over It! It's Just Harry Potter!

After reading yet another article on why Harry Potter is immoral and shouldn't be read in Christian homes, I'm left rolling my eyes and wondering if people don't have anything better to do than instilling fear in others needlessly.

Yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan. Heck, I'm a fan of books in general, and have always loved to read. But Harry Potter stand out as a series for me. I love the world and it's characters and reading the books is like hanging out with old friends.

It seems the big concern is that Harry Potter promotes neo-paganism. But I can only assume that those who level that accusation have no working knowledge of Paganism or earth based religions. In Harry Potter the witchcraft and wizardry is a gift that you simply have or you don't. Like blue eyes, or the ability to touch your tongue to your nose. It isn't a religion. In fact, the kids in Harry Potter celebrated Christian holidays, like Christmas.

Harry Potter may encourage your child to point a stick at someone else and yell, "Stupify!", but that will be as effective as looking in wardrobes for other lands after reading "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". Are we going to discourage that book too? After all, to heck with the Christian theme, it's got a witch in it!

Harry Potter is a great series to read with your kids. It brings up real questions about who to talk to when you're upset, trusting adults, whether the ends justify the means, doing the right thing, honor, courage, friendship, and many other themes that can certainly be discussed from a Christian perspective.

But the books are fantasy, people. Just fantasy. With all of the real ills in the world, things to be afraid of, and things to warn our children about, I can't for the life of me understand the need to waste our time with a children's book that's no more anti-Christian than The Lord of the Rings.